Praise for Zoroaster's Children
“Poet and travel writer Kociejowski journeys widely and writes to ‘describe the world’ and make deeper inquiries into human nature … Highly recommended for its poetic presentation of experiences in different locations, this account is inspired by the past and a plethora of emotions.”—Library Journal, Starred Review
"[Kociejowski is] one of the most evocative travel writers to emerge in the last decade ... He may well be peerless ... All the essays feature a laser-like focus on individuals and a relative indifference to their surroundings ... In city after city—Prague, Moscow, Toronto—Kociejowski does the same thing: encounters people, pays extraordinary attention to them, and captures them indelibly."—Maclean's
"Travel for Kociejowski is a metaphor for life – movement toward an uncertain and possibly non-existent destination, without a map or compass. "—Patrick Kurp, Anecdotal Evidence
Praise for Marius Kociejowski
"Kociejowski draws on all the aspects of his life in these engaging, idiosyncratic personal essays ... [that] proffer the reader equal measures of autobiography, insight and quirky charm."—Michael Dirda, The Washington Post
“Here the charm is deep, the splendour unlaboured; the colours of history, reckoned afresh, saturate singular people, in whom passion is lucid again...here is one who collects his extraordinary resources, and strides.”—Christopher Middleton
“It is a testament to the power of this superb book that I felt not despondency, but ... elation."—Adam Thorpe, The Times Literary Supplement
"Treasures are revealed ... with a formidable erudition, and at their best they gleam with an enameled splendour."—Ken Babstock, The Globe and Mail
"Kociejowski writes beautifully ... unusual, poetic, and thought-provoking."—Library Journal
★ 02/01/2016
Poet and travel writer Kociejowski journeys widely and writes to "describe the world" and make deeper inquiries into human nature. He responds to landscapes and connects with a region's past through personal encounters evoking an evanescent yet emotional connection. This collection of essays takes readers from a Victorian cemetery in Hammersmith to Prague and Marseilles to Moscow and Sri Lanka to Aleppo and Iran. The author visits poets, artists, and writers, and in most meetings is overwhelmed by a sense of history infused with a feeling of sadness. The title essay describes an extended trip to Iran, where centuries of history are evident amid the overbuilding and air pollution of modern times, and where a love of literature and deep regard for hospitality coexist with despair. The narrative comes to a close in Syria with a moving contrast between the devastation of the civil war and the warmth of Kociejowski's past visits. Throughout, he enfolds the reader with beautiful writing that creates an intricate web of poetry, history, and humanity. VERDICT Highly recommended for its poetic presentation of experiences in different locations, this account is inspired by the past and a plethora of emotions.—Elizabeth Hayford, formerly with Associated Coll. of the Midwest, Evanston, IL
